Monday 13th October
Written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
Last night we visited a very special place in the middle of Battersea Park to help support a local legend!
Battersea Park's peace pagoda is an iconic part of London's riverside, and was constructed in 1984 by a group of volunteers, including The Reverend Gyoro Nagase. It is a symbol of peace and unity and a spiritual place for many. Today the Reverend is the sole caretaker of the pagoda, and lives in a small building nearby.
It is a lot of work for one person, so we were asked to come and lend a hand. It's a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the small temple and to be part of this amazing part of Battersea history!
So after meeting for a warm up and to take a guess at which were the least known European capitals (according to Pointless it is Podgorica, Ljubljana and Bratislava!) we ran down to Battersea Park. Our first stop was the Thrive herb garden where we grabbed tools then split up into two groups.
The first party stayed at the garden to free some tiles from the brambles that had grown over them. These weren't just any tiles though - they were tiles that had been blessed by the Reverend Buddhist monk so they can be used to fix the Pagoda. This definitely means that Chris, Becca, Felix and Pritesh are forever more a part of Battersea history!
Meanwhile the rest of the group headed off to the small house and temple a short walk away to help clear the garden there. We were greeted by The Reverend Gyoro Nagase himself, and got straight on with the main jobs. Tasks included cutting a walkway in the hedge for the Reverend to get access to the back of the garden, and collecting up the masses of leaves that had collected and were making getting around the space tricky.
It was an amazing spot to work in, right by the famous fountains, and in the middle of a very quiet, very dark Battersea Park. It almost felt like we had the place to ourselves until we emerged from the area and back into the main carriageway which was buzzing with other running groups and cyclists.
We reunited to find that the tile group had done a very efficient job, and packed everything away. Join us next week as we head over to the scout hall for a tidy up! Dib, dib, do good and get fit!
Saturday 11th October
Written by Jason Kurtis
Today we set off to secure the newly planted trees at the Woodfield Pavilion Orchard. Driving posts, securing cross beams and shoveling wood chips we made sure the new sapling would be ready to root for the winter.
Monday 6th October
Written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
Last night our trip to Doddington community garden happened by the bright light of a full supermoon, an event which is said to have some peculiar effects on our behaviour...
With the moon at its closest point to us earthlings in its orbit, it is much bigger and brighter than normal - very handy for tasks happening as the nights draw in. It meant that we could strip away the bindweed, cut back the willow tree, prune the roses, sweep the maze of leaves and dig in several plants much more easily as the light faded.
Apparently the proximity of the moon and its increased lunar energy also means that we are more active. That explains the high levels of power and strength on display during our glute based fitness session. With record speed we knocked out split squat pulses, high knees, fast feet and plie squats.
The energy levels did not stop there as we channeled this heightened alertness into our monthly post task pub quiz, where Team GGW ran home with the silver. A tre-moon-dous session all round!
This weekend we have several community missions to choose from, including two session to help set up and close down a celebration of Africa market in Battersea.
If you're available tonight, we are still looking for some help at the oldest youth club in the world, be great if you could help make it happen!
Next week we have a very special new task - find out more right here.
Monday 29th September
Written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
After a summer of hard work at the GoodGym garden it was time to reap the rewards! We have been carefully maintaining the space at the back of the Omnibus theatre for over a year now, planting, weeding, sowing and digging whenever we had the opportunity. The idea is that we grow fresh, organic fruit and vegetables to donate to the Trinity hospice just a few doors up the road. Last night we went to harvest what we had produced - and I think we surprised ourselves!
We gathered at the BAC for our warm up and for the weekly brain teaser. This week is was Adrian who nailed the answer to the question - which is the longest tube line? At 46 miles long, and founded in 1900, it was the central line. Good knowledge!
We took a nice run up to the garden in the fading light, and wasted no time getting our hands dirty. First up was the chard, the biggest success of the season. It was leafy, green and very prolific, and Sophie and Adrian got a whole crate of it! The beans had also done really well, with Kamil harvesting a big tub. There were a few tomatoes, and lovely zucchini flowers, and the fig and pear tree were flourishing. Well done team!
There was time to fit in a good core session across the road, and Jordan even requested a squat challenge finisher which was the perfect way to end! With our crates of goodies, we walked up to the hospice and dropped off the produce for the chef there to use. It's great to see that all that investment in the garden resulted in something really positive.
Next week we're back at Doddington for our monthly session at the community garden followed by the pub quiz. Hope to see you there!
If you're up for a post work task in central London tonight, why not join us at this bulb planting session at a community centre in Victoria - we're looking for a few more pairs of helping hands!
Monday 22nd September
Written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
We had a last minute change of task last night, but that didn't stop us throwing ourselves into the jobs at Bramford community garden last night - well done everybody!
We started off by cheering Paul's 10km race at the weekend and then moved on to our warm up, where we worked on our hip extensions just like the pros at the World Champs last week!
Before we set off we went round the group to see who were morning larks or night owls. It turns out we are a healthy mix of both, but one thing we could all agree on was that it was time to head down to our task for the evening.
Weaving round the busy streets of Clapham we got down to Bramford gardens where Sha, the lead volunteer who keeps the space flourishing, was waiting with instructions.
While Kamil and Chris set up straight away to remove a stray chair and start collecting all the litter strewn in the area known as the circle, the rest of the team got busy removing all the mallow from the raised beds. With the hot weather and the rain, this particular plant had gone crazy, threatening to take over the space.
It was Felix and Jo who perfected the root removal system, but everybody worked hard getting as much out as possible and the beds were soon looking much clearer.
We used the run home to knock out several glute based stations, before finishing with stretches. Great session everyone! Next week we're back to the GG garden for our rescheduled task, so sign up here for another evening of fun and fitness!
Saturday 20th September
Written by Jason Kurtis
After letting nature restore the Wood during the summer we were back to clearing bramble and opening paths. We tools in hand and terrific weather we made a great start to the season. There’s lots more to do in the months ahead!
Loading...